


Karachi

by Cutebutpsycho



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-26
Updated: 2013-02-26
Packaged: 2017-12-03 16:04:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/700074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cutebutpsycho/pseuds/Cutebutpsycho
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mycroft Holmes has a deal for Irene Adler.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Karachi

I will blame [this](http://introspectivenavelgazer.tumblr.com/post/32019635564/tygermama-enigmaticpenguinofdeath) for getting me writing this little drabble. What can I say? Mycroft Holmes and Irene Adler are my favorite pairing in the Holmes universes. But I’m kinda weird like that.

~*~

_First thing to do is get a plane and get the hell out of here._ Irene Adler thought to herself.

It was thirty-six hours after Sherlock’s extraordinary sense of timing that saved her hide. Fourteen of those hours were spent switching drivers and vehicles as she made her way to New Dehli. 

Sherlock traveled with her as far as Lahore, before leaving her with a fond, yet bittersweet smile. Neither of them talked much during the journey. She felt like she should thank him, but exactly what for, she wasn’t sure. And she wasn’t sure she’d get a proper answer anyways.

After he left, Irene made her way into India and New Dehli with only strong coffee and the remains of her money fueling her journey.

No matter, she thought to herself as she handed over her the last amount of cash to hire a charter plane to take her to Shanghai. She’d been in dicier situations before and she would rise again. It was just a matter of regrouping. At least she was alive.

Later she would blame the lack of sleep, adrenaline and the over-caffeinated nerve system for her lapse in judgment. As she boarded the plane, the only thought she had was relief, before flopping into the battered leather chair. Half-listening to the overly-boisterous attendant telling her about the flight, Irene fell asleep as the doors to the plane shut, the safety video started and the engines started humming.

The plane was flying over Tibet when she was roused out of her slumber, only to find a familiar figure sitting across from her, enjoying a cup of tea.

The first thought in her mind was,  _I didn’t know this plane had proper china_.

“Mycroft Holmes,” Irene sat up and smoothed her hair as best she could.

“Miss Adler,” Mycroft offered a pinched smile. “Tea?”

“Please,” Irene accepted the cup. “I do apologize for the state of my appearance. I’ve had a rather stressful thirty-six hours.”

“I’m aware of that,” Mycroft replied. “You’ve got dust all over you from Karachi, Lahore and the northern mountains. Long journey?”

“A bit,” she sipped the tea. It was so nice to get a proper cup of British tea after her journey. “What brings you to New Dehli?”

Mycroft leaned back in his chair. “Well, the movements of my little brother caught my attention,” he tugged at a stray thread on his chair and frowned as it started to unravel. “Admittedly he’s not one to travel to Pakistan often, so we had a feeling he was on your trail.”

“Does he know you’re here?”

Mycroft shook his head. “My brother need not know about my movements,” he said. “Besides, my interest isn’t with him, but with you.”

“Really?” Irene smirked.

Mycroft flashed a brittle smile, before continuing. “It’s a very simple deal I have for you Miss Adler — you will pass information onto me on an international relations level and in return, I will ensure that you do not have to look over your shoulder.”

“So I’m employed by you,” she said.

“Think of it as independent contracting,” Mycroft replied. “I don’t care how to you earn your money, but as long as you send me reliable information, I’ll ensure your safety.”

“And if not?”

Mycroft’s smile widened. It would have been frightening if she was a lesser woman. Which she wasn’t. “Let’s just say that an emergency landing could happen in Myanmar and well, you could miss the flight.”

There was no one she knew in Myanmar. Irene knew that and she knew Mycroft knew it also. She was broke, thirty thousand feet up in the air and at his mercy. 

“What do you say Miss Adler?”

Irene leaned back, stretched and offered him a dazzling smile. “Well Mr. Holmes,” she purred, “I’d say you have a deal.”


End file.
